Aria's pov;
Waking up on Saturday morning, wasn't something I anticipated to do. It was the day that I had to meet Josh Stone, his team and my new sleeping space. I hated every part of it. It made me hate myself for being so cruel and distant with everyone, but I had to di it, it was too late. I had to get my shit together and be brave. Be the brave Aria I truly am and keep my head up high.
I dressed myself in a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans, a white tank top and a leather jacket, along with a pair of boots. I pulled my hair up in a messy bun and drunk the last sip of my morning coffee. I had gotten a text of the address I was supposed to go to and I had to be there in about twenty minutes.
I have been fairly better than two days ago and yesterday, meaning that my black circles from all the crying and the lack of sleep, have become significantly smaller. Though still there, they are easily covered up now. I was still an emotional wreck, I haven't dared to look outside my window in attempt to look out for Harry, because it would make my heart flutter in a bad way. Only thinking that we have to face each other on Monday, makes me wonder if I should ditch college once and for all and start a company without a degree.
My heart is craving for his attention, his eyes to look at mine and his body to connect with my own, but my logic and head are telling me that there are boundaries and no excuses now that my life is upside down. I will get no mercy if I do something wrong and nor will they show mercy to Harry. I am not going to risk anything, our lives and health are on the line. I care more about Harry's life than my own, but only knowing he will be worried about me if something happens to me, makes me equally cautious of my actions.
I got on my bike and drove to this big warehouse. The warehouse was surprisingly neat from the outside and didn't look wrecked in one bit. It was pretty polished, even though isolated. I had my gun on me and I'm sure Josh knew that as well. He waited for me outside, with his trusty bodyguard, Rowland.
"Aria, you made it" Josh smiled.
"Did I have a choice?" I raised a brow at him.
"It's a figure of speech, doesn't mean I am being literal" He said.
"Do I need to be searched again?" I asked him.
"No, your gun will come handy to you around here. Better be prepared than unarmed" He said. His logic is making my brain cells hurt.
"I broke the bug, if you didn't figure it out already" I said.
"I know" He nodded.
"I don't need bugs on me, you don't need to watch every single thing I do. Since I am trusting you with Harry's life and my own, you should trust me as well" I challenged him. He might have his rules, but I have my own.
"You're new here, you're not going to be let to do everything so easily yet. You need to gain the trust" He said.
"Don't underestimate me, Stone" I said.
"We'll see in the future, Mrs. Thomas. But for now, let's get you inside and get started with the tour. You need to get an ID out to come here" He said.
"Great" I rolled my eyes.
We walked towards the door of the warehouse, where there was a code and an ID scan. They are really organized and careful with what they do, they are not playing around. The code was 4829. I'll need to remember that.
"The code is confidential. Don't you try anything, while you type it, it scans your fingertips. It's a lost cause for you to try and bring somebody here to potentially expose us" He said.
"Organized killers, wow. I'm impressed" I said.
"We're not killers, Aria. We are a business that gets what it wants and needs and we work strategically" He said.
"So it's strategy to threaten somebody that you're going to kill their boyfriend?" I asked him.
"Ex boyfriend" He corrected me.
"Right" I said, flatly, not giving out any emotion.
He opened the door and I was welcomed by a lobby, an elevator and individual stairs. There were plenty of people around. To me it looked like a very organized enterprise of some sort. I wonder if Harry has ever come in here.
"Has Harry been here before?" I asked.
"For three years, him and Tomlinson used to live here, since we took them in. Then they had enough money to leave and be trusted outside. Louis moved on his own and Harry moved in with Emily. The codes have changed ever since, though. He's not allowed here anymore, because he's not a trusted member. Tomlinson is on the other hand. You might see him around some time if he comes by to pick up any papers" Josh explained to me.
"Wait, what if he sees me? He'll tell Harry" I said.
"He won't come for the next two weeks. You will be introduced to everyone until then. At the next even we will have" He said.
"More people will know I'm illegal now, great" I said.
"These news don't go out to your people, the rich. Only to our community. Your identity will be pretty much hidden to the outsiders" He said. So he knows where I stand in this world. Even greater. I can't wait for him to steal my money to buy weapons and neglect all the charities I fund.
"There's this problem though. I'm supposed to be working as Harry's photographer for his music" I said.
"Are there any shoots ahead?" I asked.
"Not until a month or a month and a half. The album shoot is way ahead" I said.
"Then we don't mind it. You'll only keep a professional relationship with Styles. Look Aria, we're trying to be good here, since you're on the verge of finishing college. We're not that bad" He said.
"At least you are letting me do my real job" I said, as I followed him. We got to the end of the hall, into a big room with glass windows, you could see everything from inside. There were only a few people there. Two women, three men and one bodyguards, wearing the same as Rowland. We got inside and I followed behind, awkwardly. Josh stood at the top of the conference table and I stoo right beside him. The two women seemed to be mingling, not minding us at all.
"Everyone, this here is the famous Aria Thomas. She's finally here!" Josh introduced me.
I didn't wave, I didn't smile. I just crossed my arms in front of my chest and rolled my eyes to his introduction. "Yeah, hi"
"Is she always that cold?" One of the women asked. She looked just around my age. She had long blonde hair and caramel eyes. She was dressed the opposite of me. Her dress was much more joyful and innocent than my edgy dark outfit. The other woman beside her, was more sleek, with her white shirt, fitted skirt and blazer.
"Yes, yes I am" I replied.
"She's just not used to us yet" Josh said.
"No, I'm a captive in this little blackmail trick of yours" I said.
"You're not a captive, you should be happy you are in our team" The same girl said.
"Okay, who the hell are you?" I asked her.
"Rachel Williams. We've heard a lot about you. You definitely hold the title of what everyone said about you" She said.
"What did they say?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion.
"That you're stubborn, feisty and gorgeous" She said.
I shrugged. "I guess that's not bad"
"Rachel is one of our best people here. She is trustworthy and she will be the one to show you around to your room and all the other places on the third floor. Next to her is Christina, my secretary. Here is Gordon, our accountant, Stephan does the same as Rachel and Brandon over there is your trainer. Yours, Rachel and Stephan's. He will help you with all the training you need to work with us, when it comes to nutrition, defense and shooting. All of that fun stuff. You only get orders from me, not any of them. You can consult from Rachel, Stephan and Brandon if anything comes up" Josh explained to me.
"So all of you are going to be telling me what the hell I have to do?" I asked.
"If you want to put it that way, yes" Josh said.
"Amazing" I groaned. I hate being bossed around.
"You're coming with me now, sweet heart" Rachel told me. She's awfully gorgeous and nice. I want to hate her so much, but I just can't. There's something so nice about her that keeps me from loathing her because she works with Stone.
"Where are we going?" I asked her, as I followed her out of the conference room. We got into the elevator and she pushed the button for the last and third floor.
"To the third floor. It's where all of us sleep, live, eat, shower and train. There are rooms, bathrooms, a shared kitchen and living room and the gym where Brandon trains us. I'm going to take you to your room, so you can take a look at it. Not all the people who work here live up there. There's me, Stephan, you, Brandon and sometimes Stone. There are a couple of empty rooms that used to be Louis' and Harry's" She said. My stomach twisted at the thought.
"Can I see it?" I asked her.
She raised a brow at me. "Harry's room?"
"Uh... Yeah... I'm just curious, that's all" I shrugged.
"You can sleep in that room if it makes you feel any better or any more welcome" She said. She just read my mind, I would do anything to at least have his sense around me.
"Okay" I said.
"You can bring your things later at night, when you come back" She said. We stepped out of the elevator and she lead me to a hall, towards the last room. She opened the door and revealed a king sized bed, a desk with a chair, a dresser and a door that I believe goes to a bathroom.
"This is it. It's all cleaned up. It's a pretty good size" She said. I took a good look at it and then she took me to the kitchen and living room area, where Brandon was, watching TV.
"Hey" He greeted us.
"Hi. So this is all. We have many supplies for food, so help yourself but if you want to buy anything, just put your name on it so we know it's yours" She said.
"That's all I need to know?" I asked.
"From me yes. If you have any questions, just ask me. Don't hesitate, we're not going to hurt you" She said.
"Not sure about that, but okay" I said.
"Brandon will take you to see the gym and shooting area. After that, come down to the conference room to settle your schedule of trainings and everything else needed" She said. I nodded and watched her walk out of the room, in a catwalk style. God, she's a living, breathing doll. Now I hate her. I wonder if Harry knows her. He must have slept with her, she's blonde. I never understood why he liked me, I'm an outcast, I'm way out of his style of personality and beauty. I mean, I'd sleep with her if she wasn't a murderer.
"Ready to see where all the magic happens?" He asked.
"Magic? You call being trained to kill and trained to be a fraud magic?" I asked him.
"If you put it this way, it sounds bad. I just like training and all, it's exciting" He said.
"I guess I see your point" I shrugged. He gave me a tour of the gym, training area with obstacles and shooting range.
I was so uncomfortable having to see all these places and realizing I had to get used to being around here. They all seem nice until I see them in action.
"Look, I know this is probably really hard for you" Brandon said.
"You wouldn't know" I shook my head.
"When Josh presented us of the idea of getting you here, I was the only one to be against it. If there's someone here you can trust, it's me. Nobody else is worth your time and effort, because they're all sick liars that love to manipulate people" He said.
"You work for them, I don't see your point" I said.
"I'm just like Harry, trapped in this place. I have no other choice. Do you think I want to live like this? But I don't want to try anything and get anyone hurt. That's what Harry did a while ago and things happened. Many people are here. They took us in, they saw we needed the money and we were all naive enough to be here. There are more people like you, Harry, Louis and I. But all those you saw in the conference room... They're not them. Stephan, Gordon, Christina and Rachel are just like Josh, Rowland and all his bodyguards. Heartless. The person you need to be most careful with is Rachel. Trust me when I say this" He said.
"Why should I trust you?" I asked him.
"Why would I tell you all of this if I wasn't on your side? I have the impression that you are a smart woman. I used to train Harry too, for his boxing. You two could end this, but Josh made you make such a bad decision. I can help you if you want to create a plan to expose Josh and all of these people. I can get some other people too. Think of it. Take your time to settle here, I will be by your side and take care of you" He said.
"You sound honest... Don't make me change my opinion on you" I said. I can only listen to the tone of his voice and look into his eyes and understand that he is being truthfull. From the moment I laid eyes on him, he looked like a genuine person, in comparison to every other person in that conference room.
He nodded. "I won't let you down. Let's head downstairs before they start suspecting anything so you can get your schedule"
I am glad that I came here with a clear head and have an ally by my side, so soon. I am aware that it's dangerous to trust anybody working here so soon, but my gut is telling me he is okay to do so. My gut is always right, even if I fight it sometimes, it always turns out to be right.
We got back to the conference and I got enlightened at how much freedom I've got and when I should be training. I will be able to go to class like usual and then check in with somebody that I am going to my apartment to study. I can be in my apartment until 5pm, after that, I need to head back here, to the headquarters and do whatever I need to do, from training and shooting to eating dinner and showering. Great. At least I have some freedom. I wonder if I'll be able to see my friends on the weekends. I should ask Brandon that later.
I got back to my apartment and gathered everything I needed there in one big suitcase. I got a ride there, because it would be impossible to carry the suitcase on my bike. I had a green light for one hour, while Harry was training. If I took too long, he would come back and see both me and the car of the enterprise Josh has.
I got my suitcase up to the third floor and started organizing my clothes, toiletries etc. I opened the dresser and found two shirts. One plain white and one plain black. But I knew exactly whose they were. Harry's. I took them in my hands and run my fingertips on the soft fabric. He always wears these, he must have forgotten them. I brought the shirts closer to me and sniffed on the smell of his cologne on these shirts. Oh Harry... What have I done?
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-Eva. xx
Okay I didn't forget about you guys, but my phone fell into water soo. It's okay but I can't open my wifi, but I have a backup phone so here!